PWHL awards Las Vegas an expansion team a year in making

The Professional Women’s Hockey League awarded Las Vegas an expansion team a year after the Golden Knights planted initial seed.

Amy Sheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations, said she was contacted via LinkedIn last year by Sheri Hudpeth, director of youth hockey programs and fan engagement for the Golden Knights to hold a PWHL Takeover — a neutral site game in a city without a team — in Las Vegas.

While the takeover event never transpired, the initial contact got the ball rolling toward expanding to Southern Nevada, Sheer said.

“We had some initial conversations and then started again several months ago with (Golden Knights president of business operations) John (Penhollow), so it happened fast,” Sheer said Wednesday. “I think we both wanted to make it happen, and here we are.”

Las Vegas made sense by checking all the boxes desired for pro sports team host city, with the ability to play at T-Mobile Arena, practice and be anchored out of America First Center in downtown Henderson at the top of the list.

“We like to provide infrastructure for our players to be the best that we can be,” Sheer said.

Sheer described Wednesday’s announcement as emotional, seeing how quickly the league has grown to 11 teams, with the additions of Las Vegas, Detroit and Hamilton, Ontario, over the past few weeks.

“We’re proud of how far we’ve come so fast and now to be able to make Las Vegas our next home in this beautiful building (T-Mobile Arena),” Sheer said. “There are many days where we cry happy tears in the PWHL, and this is one of them.”

The team, which has yet to be named, will reveal its identity before its debut for the 2026-27 season, which begins in November. Fans will have some say in what the name will be, with no time frame on when the process will be completed, according to Sheer.

“Given the short timeline here, it will probably be something where we do maybe small, quantitative versus qualitative,” Sheer said. “Fans always have input in everything that we do. Along with our players.”

The expansion roster process will begin May 28, with the first players being drafted to the team in the entry draft June 17 in Detroit, Sheer said. The roster then will be filled out in free agency thereafter.

The Las Vegas PWHL team’s first training camp will kick off in the middle of November, followed by the start of the season.

Las Vegas’ PWHL team will play its home games at T-Mobile Arena, with chances that select games could be played at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, should the Golden Knights schedule or a special event at T-Mobile create a scheduling conflict, Penhollow said.

“The intention is to play the games here (T-Mobile); we’re going to potentially have some scheduling conflicts given that we have an NHL team here and a number of concerts,” Penhollow said. “But the beauty is we have Lee’s Family Forum available when we need it. So we’re excited about that. Great for Henderson as well we can play a couple of games there.”

Renovations will need to occur at America First Center in Henderson, where the American Hockey League’s Silver Knights practice and train out of, to meet all the requests the PWHL had for the expansion team’s headquarters.

“What their requests are, are exactly what we had to do for the Silver Knights,” Penhollow said. “Dedicated locker room, dedicated laundry, dedicated gym, where are they going to eat. … These are all things that we could take care of. The way that building was constructed sets up well for these types of renovations. The hope is that we get it all done before the start of the regular season.”

Adding one more pro sports team to the city’s expanding list is nothing but a good thing, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO Steve Hill. Adding another sport that can help draw visitors, especially Canadians (Canada now has five PWHL franchises) is a big deal to Las Vegas, he said.

“All of Canada watches all hockey, so an announcement like this keeps Vegas top of mind when the games start in the fall and when we have the draft,” Hill said. “All of these things are going to keep Vegas top of mind with all the hockey fans in Canada. … It is not just the game itself, but the marketing value in Canada that we get by having another team here is really helpful for us.”